Not Exactly Proper
by TheVillageOfBree
Summary: Alice Primm is rather well off, her grandmother is rich and her fiance is perfect. Everything is going well. Until some strange pirate decides to show up in her life and ruin everything. eventual Jack Sparrow/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, i'm still alive, wow. I was going to wait until this was finished before uploading but i was getting impatient, ive only got five chapters finished at this point so updates will be a little slow, but they will come eventually. **

**ive been trying to write a new PotC story ever since i gave up on ****_I'm Elizabeth _****and i finally got one going, so here it is! please try to enjoy, haha.**

****important note** **

**this story is set in a sort of AU version of OST, the first 10 minutes of the movie remain roughly the same, minus Barbossa and his awful wig and Jack really _was_ searching for a crew. These events dont appear, but take place directly before my story, from then on the plot is only inspired by the movie here and there, it is almost entirely of my own creation. Thanks.**

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A young woman sat in a carriage, watching the world go by. Admittedly she loved carriage rides, the destinations she arrived at never seemed to compare to the journey, she enjoyed seeing the land and the people bustling about their own lives while she lived hers. It fascinated her, watching other people, listening to other conversations just to have glimpse into another person's world. She was known as a quiet girl, much to her grandmother's displeasure, yes it was proper for a girl to be quite, but not to be silent. The girl sighed and tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear as she watched London wiz past her window, her gloved hands curled in the lap of her pale yellow dress; it was one of her finer outfits, one she only got to wear on special occasions. Her grandmother thought this day was one of such occasions as they had both just visited a duke living on the further edge of London, he was nice, older than the young woman had hoped, but he was enough to keep her happy.

"Alice?" A voice asked from the other side of the carriage, the young woman turned to meet the speaker's eyes.

"Yes grandmother?" She asked, her voice soft and gentle.

"Why do you seem so solemn? Did you not enjoy Charles' company?"

Alice smiled gently, "I did grandmother, very much. He is a kind man and I am happy to be marrying him."

This was not a lie, Alice was happy, Charles Montgomery was a pleasant gentleman who cared very much for Alice and of all the men her grandmother had introduced, he was by far the loveliest. He was one of the few people who could bring Alice to speak confidently and he even praised her love for observation of the world, as he enjoyed making maps, it was a hobby he partook in and loved to show his works to Alice he was pleasantly surprised when he found how much they intrigued her.

The elderly woman smiled and took Alice's hand, "I want nothing more than to see you happy, my dear. Just as your parents wanted."

Alice nodded sadly, "do you ever miss them?" she asked.

Her grandmother smiled, but her eyes were sad, "every day, my love."

Alice's parents, Margaret and William Primm, had both died before Alice was even two. Her mother died during childbirth and her father was lost at sea, Alice had never known her parents and so didn't take it to heart as much as her grandmother. She was an elegant woman, her greying hair pulled tight against her scalp and she donned a pale blue dress with a matching hat almost identical to Alice's in all but colour, now she was the one to gaze out the window with a sad look in her eyes. Alice opened lips to ask a question, but was cut off when a strange man swung through the window and landed on her grandmother's lap.  
Mrs Primm couldn't hold in her scream, while Alice sat watching with her mouth gaping open when the man's mouth latched onto her grandmother's ear. He had thick black dreadlocks, reaching the small of his back and the outfit he was wearing seemed more than grimy, it took a few seconds before Alice could even say a word.

"What in God's name are you doing to my grandmother?!" She cried, the man made a non-committal noise and spun his head to face her instead. He scrunched up his nose and spat one of Mrs Primm's earrings onto the floor of the carriage.

"'ello, love!" He said with a grin, revealing several golden teeth, Alice was horrified. His skin was lightly tanned and his black eyes were rimmed with thick layers of kohl, a large red bandanna prevented his dreadlocks from falling into his face and his facial hair (despite the plaits in his bead) seemed rather unkempt.

"Who are you?" Alice asked, her voice beginning to waver. Mrs Primm had begun to fan herself and seemed on the brink of unconsciousness, "what are you doing in my carriage?"

"carriage inspector!" He replied, not even missing a beat, "just checking everything is in working order, my lady."

Alice was haven't any of it, "you are not a carriage inspector, sir. Would you please leave us be."

The man opened his mouth, as if to say another lie before closing it again. Opting instead to pull a dagger out from his boot, "Sorry, darling. I didn't want to do this, but I need somewhere to hide and you're going to give me one, savvy?"

The young woman was shaking but still replied with a firm, "no."

"Oh, but yes." The man said, "I just need to hide in this here carriage until you reach your destination, then I'll be out of your hair, yes?"

Alice noted that he talked with his hands, occasionally the one holding the dagger would get uncomfortably close to her face, but it seemed the man never planned for it to do so. He was quite the eccentric, and despite the dagger, he didn't seem to mean harm.

"Alright, but we will be at the gates of my home soon and I am sure grandmother's guards will see you."

The man shrugged before getting down onto the floor and sliding himself under Alice's dress, she screamed, "Please get out of there!"

"No" the man said, his voice muffled, "I'm hiding. _Don't_ tell them I am here."

Alice felt the cool blade of the dagger tickling her calves; she'd have to leave him under there. Her heart was beating fast and her breath was haggard, she was scared. Mrs Primm had passed out at some point during the ordeal but was clearly still breathing; Alice took a big heaving breath as the carriage stopped at the gates to Primm manor.

A guard leaned into the window with a kind smile on his face, "Afternoon, Miss Primm. How was your outing?"

The dagger pressed harder against Alice's leg and she forced a smile, "Just fine, thank you. It seems to have worn out my grandmother though."

The guard chuckled while looking at the sleeping form of Mrs Primm, completely oblivious to the man under Alice's skirts, "Make sure you both get some rest when you get inside, I can see you are weary as well."

"Thank you" Alice said, her cheeks beginning to redden and the blade still on her calf. Luckily the carriage started moving again and stopped just outside their front doors.

"You'll have to get out." Alice whispered, "I'm sure I cannot walk with you under there."

"I think you'll find you can." The gruff voice said from under her skirts, Alice took a deep breath in through her nose and opened the door to the carriage, she went down to the step and waited for the man to scurry down as well before stepping to the ground.

"Your dress is magnificent!" Alice's butler cried, "I don't remember your grandmother purchasing a frame, but I can't imagine how it would reach that size without one."

Alice chewed her lip nervously, "Yes, she found one in my size yesterday. Would you mind waking grandmother? She fell asleep on the ride home."

"Of course, Madame." The butler bowed and walked away, giving Alice just enough time to shuffle inside, she had one leg on either side of the man's body and had to wait for him to catch up after every step. The impropriety of the whole situation made Alice feel almost sick, doubly so when she remembered the knife was under her skirts as well.

Once inside, Alice walked very slowly to her bedroom, trying her hardest to keep from lifting her dress, which caused many almost trippings on the way up the stairs. When she finally reached her room, the young woman turned and slammed the door shut before lifting her skirts and sprinting to her bed. She grabbed a poker from her fireplace and pointed it at the man who was still on all fours.

"There." She said, her voice shaking, "I have hidden you and now we are at my home. Will you please leave?"

The man leapt from the ground and grinned, "Thank you muchly, my lady." He said, bowing so low that his hair brushed Alice's pristine cream carpet, "I'll be leaving now"

He began to head towards the window, but before he could, curiosity got the better of the brown haired girl, "Wait!"

The man stopped and turned towards her, he took a step closer and Alice held the fire poker further in front of herself.

"Don't come any closer!" She took a step back, "Please just tell me who you are."

"You're a very polite girl, aren't you? Don't think you've asked one thing of me without saying _please_."

"Just tell me!" Alice sighed, "…please."

The man shrugged, "As you wish. I am _Captain_ Jack Sparrow, on the run from the navy, which I am sure was your next question."

"Jack Sparrow?" Alice asked, "You're the one they were supposed to be hanging!"

Jack grinned, "Firstly, its _Captain _Jack Sparrow. But yes, that's me, unimpressed?"

"Unimpressed!?" The young woman exclaimed, "I don't only have a wanted criminal in my home, but a _pirate _as well!"

Jack grabbed the end of Alice's poker and lowered it so he could take a closer step, Alice tried desperately to bring it back up, but Jack's grip was too firm, "What's your name, eh, lass?"

Alice blinked, finding that she wasn't even afraid anymore, "Alice Primm."

"Nice name, suits you."

Alice held her head high, looking straight into his dark eyes, "thank you. However I believe it is your time to leave. I don't know when my butler will call me for tea."

Jack nodded and almost turned to the window again, freezing on the spot and gazing at the neckline of Alice's yellow dress, "where did you find that?" He asked.

Alice gazed down to see what he was speaking of, noticing her necklace; it was a small teardrop shaped mother of pearl, strung on a sliver chain. It was given to her by her grandmother on her eighteenth birthday; she claimed the shell washed up on the beach one morning, already in its teardrop shape, not requiring any alterations. Alice thought it was just a story her grandmother told to make her feel all the more special, either way, she hadn't removed it since.

"It was a gift from my grandmother, why do you ask?" Jack lifted his hand, almost to grab the shell, but Alice pushed him away, "You still have to leave. I can't have you here, it was improper of me to assist you at all and I wouldn't have, had it not been for your dagger. Please, leave me."  
Jack eyes were pleading, there was something he wanted but Alice didn't have time to question it, she could hear her butler walking up the stairs and pushed Jack to the window, "leave now!"

"I'll be back, Alice Primm." He said as he swung out the window and grabbed a nearby tree, Alice watched him shimmy his way down, "this is the day you will always remember as the day you met Captain Jack Sparrow!"


	2. Chapter 2

After a week or so, Alice completely forgot the pirate's promise to return to her. She had spent the first few nights after their encounter rather sleeplessly, always expecting the strange man to come in through her window. He never did though and the young woman was glad for it. She awoke on a rather dreary morning, rain pouring down outside her window and a cool chill passed through her room. Alice shivered slightly and dressed very quickly so she wouldn't have to feel the cold for long, Charles would be coming to visit that day and she was delighted. He was going to be arriving late afternoon, giving Alice plenty of time to prepare; her grandmother was waiting downstairs already, sitting straight backed at the dining table.

"Morning, Alice" She said with a soft smile, Alice replied with a nod.

"How have you been feeling, Grandmother?" Alice asked and Mrs Primm sighed.

"May I be frank with you, dear?" Alice nodded and the older woman continued, "I am still more or less shaken up after the encounter with that ghastly pirate fellow."

Alice cringed, "I assume you are speaking of Jack Sparrow?"

"I am. I know it has been some time, but I always feel he is watching me, with his evil eyes."

"He didn't seem evil, Grandmother. He was a fugitive, yes, but he never seemed to mean any harm."

Mrs Primm stared at her granddaughter with fear in her eyes, "He held a dagger to you, Alice. One doesn't do that without some sort of evil intention, please be wary."

"I will, Grandmother. However, I still do not believe he will ever return to us, he has no reason to."

"You never know, my dear. He just might have one."

Their serious discussion was interrupted by the arrival of breakfast, which Alice was thankful for, the less chat regarding Captain Sparrow, the better. They ate quietly, before Alice decided to return to her room as she had neglected to do her hair before coming downstairs, it was always falling in her face and was awfully annoying.  
She was only in her room for a matter of seconds before noticing something strange, she didn't remember leaving her window open that morning, it was far too cold to let in a nice breeze but she was sure the wind wasn't strong enough to blow it open.

"How very peculiar…" She muttered before walking to the window and bolting it shut, just in case. The young woman sighed and fell back onto her bed with a _flop_, she was sure that she'd have plenty of time before Charles arrived and her hair could probably wait. She blew a stray lock of hair out of her face and pulled her legs up onto her bed, sitting crossed legged and holding her chin on her hand.

Suddenly Alice heard a creak coming from her closet. She sat up straight and stared at it. What was in there? A rat? Alice _hated _rats.

"Hello?" She called; entirely sure that nothing was going to reply, rats couldn't talk.

"Hello to you too."

Alice blinked, apparently this rat _could _talk, and its voice sounded sickeningly familiar.  
She climbed down from the four poster bed and inched towards the closet; she pressed an ear against the smooth mahogany and could hear breathing. With a deep intake of breath, she ripped the doors open and leapt backwards, as she had been expecting, Jack Sparrow fell out.

"What in the world are you doing in my closet, Captain Sparrow?!" She cried and swiped her fire poker up.

Sparrow groaned at the sight of it, "Do you really have to use that again?"

Alice looked down at him, "Yes, I do. The man I am engaged to will be here soon, so please state your business quickly."

"Could you _please _lower your-"

"No!" Alice said forcefully and Sparrow sighed.

"I just wanted to enjoy the pleasure of your company." He said with a slight smirk and Alice tucked some stray hair behind her ear.

"I highly doubt that, but thank you all the same."

Jack pulled himself up from the ground and grinned, "So, what's he like? Your _betrothed_."

Alice blinked, "Oh, Charles? Well, he's lovely, if I do say so myself."

Sparrow walked around Alice and sat down on her bed; she jumped slightly and held the poker further forward, "Don't mind me." He said with a wave of his hand, "Please continue, this is _very _interesting."

"Well, he lives on the other side of London and is very fascinated with maps. He makes them in his spare time, deciphers them too, he's a very clever man, Charles is."

Jack eyes widened, "Oh? Is he?" He stood from the bed and took a step closer to Alice who had lowered her poker at some point during the conversation; he made sure to take it in his hand so she couldn't raise it again, "and would I be right in saying that good ol' Charlie is coming to visit today?"

Alice scrunched her nose up, she was surprisingly unfazed by the proximity of the pirate, but his breath was more than unsettling, "Yes, you would. That is why you have to leave."

"_but_, Alice. I think you'll find I have something that dearest Charlie could assist me with. A map actually, an important one I'm sure you'll find."  
"Really?" Alice asked, "I'm sure he'd be delighted were you not a fugitive."

Jack shrugged, "Doesn't seem to be bothering you terribly, love." Alice raised an eyebrow at the pet name, but Sparrow continued anyway, "which is why you are going to give it to him."

He quickly stuck a hand down his shirt and pulled out a roll of thick paper that he shoved into Alice's hands. The young woman let curiosity get the best of her once again and unrolled it, running a finger along the torn edges of the circle.

"Is part missing?" She asked and Jack shrugged.

"Just the border, nothing important."

Alice squinted and stared at what Sparrow was calling a map, "You must be mistaken, it appears to be missing most of what would constitute it as a map. Where are the countries? And why does it… why does it spin like this?"

"It's a _special_ map." Jack said with a grin, "Do you think Charles can help?"

"Well, it's rather difficult to say, it's not what one would call a _conventional _map, but I suppose Charles could have a look."

Sparrow pressed his hands together and bowed, "Thank you very much, love."

Alice folded the map up again and held it under her arm, "I can't help wondering though, Captain Sparrow, why it is you can't decipher your map on your own. I feel as though that would be common knowledge for a pirate."

"As I said before, Alice. It's no ordinary map, if I could read it without the help of your betrothed, I wouldn't be requesting it. Savvy?"

"Yes, yes. I suppose I understand." She said with a nod, "Now, where is it you are intending to stay while Charles looks over your strange map? Because you can't very well stay in here."

"Why not?"

Alice scoffed, "You know very well why not."

"I do not!"

"Yes you do!"

The young woman jumped when she heard a stair creak, someone was coming towards her room.

"Mister Sparrow, you have to hide!"

Jack frowned, "Captain."

"Yes, _Captain_ Sparrow. Now please, hide somewhere, _anywhere_!" Alice was beginning to find herself feeling quite frantic, while she didn't dislike the pirate's company, she was sure that whoever was coming up there stairs wouldn't have the same thought.  
Jack had managed to scurry himself under Alice's bed, she knelt down and stared into his deep brown eyes, "Please do try to remain inconspicuous, I'm not sure just how long I will be gone."

"You can count on me, love." He said with a wink and Alice rolled her eyes before quickly leaving her room.

She almost bumped into her butler who was standing just outside; he seemed a little taken aback, "Miss Primm, I wasn't expecting you to come out so soon."

Alice smiled and held the map behind her back, "Yes, sorry about that. I didn't hear you coming."

"It's no problem, Miss Primm." The butler said with a wave of his hand, "Mr Montgomery is awaiting you downstairs, Milady."

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed and began to walk down the stairs, "Has he been here very long?"

"No, Miss. He only just arrived."

Alice nodded and briskly walked toward the entrance hall where Charles was standing.

"Alice." He said with a soft smile, the corners of his eyes crinkled, "How have you been?"

She walked toward him, "Just fine, Charles."

He was a handsome man with thick red hair and soft green eyes; the only real sign of aging was a few grey hairs at his temples, "That's wonderful." He grasped her hand and brought it to his lips, "you are also very wonderful, my love." He placed a soft kiss on her hand and she felt her cheeks turning pink.

"I might say the same about you, Charles."

With a smile, Charles linked arms with Alice and lead her to the lounge where they each sat in a chair across from each other, "It must be only three months until we are married, Alice."

"I only wish time would move faster." Alice whispered, "I'd like it to be sooner."

Charles chuckled and brushed a stray hair behind Alice's ear, "You are very beautiful, Alice Primm."

"Thank you."

They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds before Alice suddenly jumped, "Oh! I almost forgot."

She brought the strange map out from behind herself and passed it to Charles, "Being so fascinated with maps, I was hoping you could decipher this one for me." She said, Charles unfolded the map carefully and gasped.

"Gods, I have never seen one like this! It appears…Asian in origin if I am correct. Goodness, it rotates! Why on Earth would it do that?"

Alice shrugged, "I'm not entirely sure. I came by it in the attic earlier this week and was _very _intrigued."

She didn't like lying to Charles, part of her wanted to tell him about the pirate in her home, she trusted her fiancé more than anyone but couldn't bear to think of what consequences may arise.

"This will take some time for me to analyse. I'm not sure what sort of map this is at all, but I can certainly see what I can do, it is very fascinating."

Alice looked slightly panicked, "So, you cannot decipher it this afternoon?"

"Sorry, my dear." Charles said, shaking his head, "I can have it returned by the end of the week? If you don't wish for me to take it home, that would be fine, I understand."

"No." Alice said, "Please take it; I'm sure I can wait."

"Then it is done." Charles said with a smile, he folded the map up again and tucked it into the pocket of his jacket.

Alice almost offered him some tea, but was quickly interrupted by a crashing sound from upstairs, Charles leapt from his chair.

"Alice, what was that noise?"

The young woman knew _exactly _what that noise was, Captain Sparrow was becoming impatient, but she couldn't tell that to Charles.

"Probably a bird. I must have left a window open, I can be very forgetful."

Charles shook his head, "It sounds much larger than a bird."

"Perhaps it is a large bird."

"Would you like me to have a look?" Charles asked, beginning to look very concerned. Alice waved the idea way.

"No, it will be fine. It would be very improper for a man to enter the bedroom of a woman he is yet to marry."

Charles almost blushed, "My, I was so flustered I forgot my sense of propriety. Forgive me, Alice."

The girl felt terrible knowing that the very reason Charles couldn't see her bedroom was that _another man _was in there, she was beginning to feel sick to the stomach.

"You are forgiven, Charles. Of course you are, but I do think it is time you leave; I must handle the bird and regrettably have fallen ill. Good day."

She stood from her chair and began to run to her room, hoping Sparrow hadn't broken anything or decided to roam the hallways.

"I'll see you next week, shall I?" Charles called up to her and she nodded.

"Please. It was delightful seeing you, farewell!" As she reached the top of the stairs she heard Charles whisper a soft goodbye and she slipped into her bedroom, praying she hadn't offended her fiancé horribly.  
With a frown, she turned and stared at the pirate in her room, he had at some point managed to bump into her vanity knock over several perfume bottles. The room smelt very strongly of lavender and it made her eyes water.

"Sorry, love." Jack said in an offhanded way, "smells nice though."

She crossed her arms and glared at him, "Look, Captain Sparrow. You're lucky I have plenty more of those bottles, otherwise I might be furious." She sighed, "Charles is currently deciphering your map, but it will take a few days, a week at most."

Sparrow mumbled something about it a ship and it growing further away with every day he had to wait, Alice ignored it.

"I suppose you have somewhere to stay?"

The pirate grinned, "Course I do, Alice." He pointed to her window with his thumb, "Just out there."

Alice raised an eyebrow and walked over to the window, leaning out and sighing. There was a makeshift hammock hanging from the lower branches of her tree, swaying gently in the breeze, "Fine. Just don't try to converse with the gardener, I don't imagine that will end well."

Jack winked, "Cross my heart, love."


	3. Chapter 3

It was only four days before Charles returned. But in that small amount of time, Alice had (despite her better judgement) managed to befriend the pirate, she found she thoroughly enjoyed his company and was happy every time he swung into her room through the window.  
On the fourth day he was lying on her bed, his boots discarded in the general vicinity of _away_.

Alice was dressed in a modest purple frock and pacing back and forth, "Jack? What are you going to do when Charles returns the map?"

The pirate waved a hand from the bed, "I'm going to take my ship for the slimy wretch who stole it, _again_." He sat up, "Are you going to miss me, love?"

"No." Alice scoffed, "I was just curious."

She was going to miss him; he was really her only companion aside from her grandmother and Charles.

"You have done a _marvellous _job keeping me hidden all by your onesies, I must say. But I'm not sure you'd be so competent on the sea."

Alice crossed her arms, "I might be, you wouldn't know."

"Have you been on a boat before?"

"Well, no. But that isn't to say I wouldn't make a _fine _sailor."

Jack leapt from the bed and took a step towards Alice, "You could always come, love. There's always room for a beautiful woman on my ship. When I get it back of course."

Alice laughed, "Thank you, but I must decline. I'm to be married soon."

Jack scrunched up his nose in disgust, "Yes, I forgot about that."

"Well, I'm going to head downstairs and fetch you breakfast. Try not to break anything."

"Wasn't planning on it."

Alice nodded and stepped out the door, she very quickly made her way to the kitchen and grabbed a selection of fruits and bread, carefully shoving them in a basket before turning back to the stairs, but was stopped by her grandmother.

"I haven't seen you recently, Alice." She said, "Why have you been hiding in your room?"

The young woman blushed, "I've found myself very caught up in a book, sorry if I've been distant."

Mrs Primm smiled softly and rested a hand on her granddaughter's shoulder, "I worry about you, Alice. You are all I have left."

And with that the older woman turned away, heading off the handle some other business. Alice knew Mrs Primm would only have _more _reason to worry if she found out about Jack and decided that it was a lie told only for good reasons. She sighed softly and started heading up the stairs, only reaching the middle when she heard the voice of her betrothed.

"Alice!" He cried, "Alice!"

The young woman froze and stared at him, his hair was windswept and his cheeks flushed, he had been running. What had Charles so desperate that he was running?

"Charles, what is it? Why are you here? You didn't give me any warning at all."

The older man bounded up the stairs and looked into Alice's hazel eyes, "Your map, Alice. It is not one detailing the locations of countries as I am used to studying, I think, I think it may be a treasure map. A _pirate _map."

Alice's palms began to sweat and she gripped the basket she held tighter, "A pirate map? To where does it lead?"

"I'm not completely sure, but I have a hunch."

Charles pulled the map from his pocket and unfolded it, "It took me awhile to figure it out, but the inner circles spin and depending on where they sit, the map shows a different location."

To demonstrate he slowly turned a ring around until a set of words at the bottom formed.

"Up is down?" Alice asked and Charles nodded.

"Yes, I never deciphered what that meant, but this section here." He pointed to what seemed to be the top half of a chalice and spun a ring until the whole chalice was shown. Alice watched in amazement as he spun the next ring as well, this helped to form the shape of what appeared to be a mermaid wearing nothing but a necklace.

"Under the mermaid." Alice mumbled, "It reads 'the mother of the sea' what does this mean?"

Charles' mouth set in a hard line, "I think it refers to her necklace, perhaps that is its name? I'm not sure. What I am sure of though, is that this combination is designed to lead one place to…well, the Fountain of Youth."

Alice's eyes widened, "No. It cannot exist, the fountain is nothing but a fairytale."

"This map makes it seem very real." Charles said, pointing to the chalice, the mermaid and then finally a rock formation in the middle of a rough sea, the water crashing into the rocks at just the right angle to create a fountain of water on the inside, "These three images show what you need to reach the fountain, what you need to use the fountain and an image of the fountain itself. I'm still not sure I believe it, but it seems very real."

If the fountain was real, and if that was where this map would lead, that must have been where Jack was planning to go. The pirate wanted to be immortal. She had to tell him what Charles had discovered and very quickly, but she didn't want to send Charles away.

"Thank you for deciphering it for me, Charles" Alice said, carefully taking the map from his hands, "I will just visit my room to leave the map. I'll return soon, please, take a seat in the dining room we can have breakfast together."

Charles nodded, "I would be delighted."

Alice smiled gently and hurried up the rest of the stairs. In her room she found that Jack was lying on her bed again and was snoring softly.

"Jack." She said and the pirate awoke, groggily sitting up and flashing the girl a crooked smile, "Your map, Charles says it's a treasure map and that it leads to the Fountain of Youth."

"Oh, that's good then. At least I have the right one."

"So, you _are _looking for the fountain. My, what a ridiculous endeavour, it cannot be real."

Jack grinned, "Ah, Alice. I can prove to you that it is."

Alice raised an eyebrow, "Can you really?"

"Yes." Jack stood from the bed and took the map from Alice, he unfolded it and pointed to the mermaid, "The only part of the map that I truly understood was this." He tapped on the mermaid's necklace, "Look familiar?"

"No, why would it?"

"Have you ever tried removing your necklace, Alice?"

Alice blinked, "No, I never had a reason to, the chain is pure silver, it cannot rust."

"More importantly, _can _you remove it?" Jack asked, looking straight into Alice's eyes.

She didn't say a word, simply reaching under her brown hair and grabbing the back of the necklace where the clasp should have been. Only there was no clasp. She tried in vain to pull it over her head, only it wouldn't work, no matter how hard she tried it wouldn't come off.

"My god." She whispered, "What sorcery is this?"

"Not sorcery, love. Fate. Somehow, the mother of the sea found its way to you and then I found my way to you. Bloody useful coincidence, eh?"

Alice began to pace in a very panicked way, wringing her hands in front of herself, "So what you are saying is that I, Alice Primm, somehow obtained an irremovable necklace that was created for the soul purpose of leading people to the Fountain of Youth?"

Jack grinned, "Exactly!"

The young woman had begun to feel faint and was about ready to pass out when Jack said one last thing.

"Remember when I asked you to join me on my ship? Because it looks like you're going to anyway."

Alice managed get out a sharp, "what?!" before being picked up and flung over Jack's shoulder, the panic finally over took and she passed out.

"Sorry, love."


	4. Chapter 4

The young woman awoke a few hours later when a sharp jolt sent her head into something hard; she sat up quickly and screamed.

"Oh my goodness! Where are we?!"

She was sitting at one end of a small dingy and Jack was sitting at the other, nursing a bottle of rum.

"The ocean, love."

Alice made a panicky wining noise and looked over the edge of the dingy at the water spanning for miles and miles, not one speck of land was in sight.

She held tightly to the wooden boat and tried her best to stay as far from the edge as possible.

"You alright?" Jack asked and Alice glared.

"No, I am not. I pass out after being tossed over a pirate's shoulder and then wake up in a boat the size of a _bathtub_."

Jack looked a little guilty and offered Alice his rum bottle; she waved it away with a look of disgust. She quickly noticed that she still wore her purple frock that she had dressed in that very morning and sighed.

"Since I am obviously stuck on this boat with you, Captain Sparrow because I'm not sure I can actually swim and I have no idea just how far we are from London, I must ask if you thought to collect some extra dresses for me."

"Why would I have done that? The dress you are in is absolutely _ravishing_. Honestly though, love, do you really think we have room for your delightful high class dresses in this dingy? You can get some more when I find the _Pearl_."

"That the name of your ship is it?"

Jack looked solemn and stared out at the horizon, "Aye. It's been stolen from me three times now."

Despite her better judgment, Alice reached a hand forward and placed it on Jack's knee, "You'll find it, Jack."

"Course I will, found it the last two times didn't I?"

He quickly unhooked something from his belt and flicked it open. From what Alice knew of sailors, she assumed it was a compass, "Where are we headed?"

Jack spun a finger around before pointing in a south east direction, "that general direction."

"And what is in 'that general direction', Jack?"

The pirate grinned, "Tortuga."

* * *

Eight days later Alice sat at her end of the boat with her arms crossed and Jack sat at his with an almost empty bottle of rum, attempting to pour the last few drops into his mouth.

She had been having difficulty controlling her emotions over that week, she wanted desperately to be angry with her captor, but she only even felt mild annoyance towards him, as though her kidnapping was nothing but a mere inconvenience. Also, no matter how hard she tried to maintain the annoyance, she found herself constantly laughing or smiling with the pirate, he was maddeningly charismatic. By the end of the week though, she was beginning to lose patience, the food Sparrow collected in Spain was running low and Alice was _still _in her purple dress, she was lucky that it hadn't rained heavily.

"I did say you should collect more food than you did." She muttered as Jack tossed his empty bottle over the edge of the dingy, it landed in the water with a splash and the pirate sighed.

"We should reach Tortuga in one more day, could you _please _maintain a sunny disposition? That sour expression doesn't suit you."

Alice turned away from him, pointedly avoiding his gaze, "What will you do if your ship isn't there, hmm?"

"Commandeer another." Jack said without missing a beat. Alice stared at him.

"You mean _steal?_"

Sparrow looked at her as if she was stupid, "Pirate."

"Well, I'm not sure about _you, _Captain Sparrow, but I haven't exactly been enjoying this venture thus far and would like to know exactly why it is you require me at all."

"Because, dearie. I can't take your necklace off you and I need it. According to the legend, the mother of the sea should fend off enemies of those attempting to reach the Fountain, mermaids, sirens all those delightful creatures. But _most _importantly, without it, one can't even find the Fountain, many a pirate has been known to sail right through it because unless you have the necklace, it isn't even there. You are fairly essential, love. Savvy?"

Alice nodded slowly and the two sat in silence, with no noise around but the sound of the waves. The boat rocked softly and the wind was pushing them forward, the trip had been a remarkably quick one, which Alice was incredibly thankful for, because she was already finding herself incredibly uncomfortable in the tiny boat.

Early on the morning of the ninth day, Alice cracked her hazel eyes open the sun was slowly rising over the horizon, tinting the sea with orange. She wiped several beads of sweat from her forehead, she didn't like the tropics it was _much _too hot. She turned herself to look at Sparrow, he was _supposed _to be steering the boat she supposed but had (at some point) fallen asleep, he was snoring softly and the fingertips on his left hand were dangling in the water. Alice sometimes thought she preferred him like this, at least he was quieter.  
With a soft sigh she tugged at the sleeves of her dress, attempting to pull the tight fabric up to her elbows, it was just too hot. The young woman tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear and her eyes widened as she saw something on the horizon growing larger, with a gasp she scrambled to the other end of the boat, making it rock precariously and accidentally elbowing Jack's head.

"Land." She muttered, "It's land!"

With an ecstatic laugh she turned and looked at the sleeping pirate, "Captain Sparrow! _Wake up_ we've reached land!"

Sparrow woke up groggily, "Calm down, lass. We've been at sea for a grand total of seven days-"

"nine now, Jack"

"Yes, nine. But honestly, not very long, you're acting like you haven't seen land in a decade."

Alice scoffed, "I've never _been _at sea. It feels like a decade, Sparrow. How long until we can make port?"

Jack squinted and stared at the island, "an hour or two."

"What's there to do in Tortuga, Jack?" Alice asked curiously, never having been away from London she wasn't exactly sure what this foreign island would be like.

"Well, there's rum, and plenty of wenches." Alice made a disgusted face and Jack snorted, "Neither of which are for you, love. It will be easy for you to find somewhere to pick up some new clothes, since that dress isn't exactly, _piratey _in nature."

Alice laughed, "I am not a pirate, Captain Sparrow."

He shrugged, "You might as well be, lass."

For some reason that statement came as a great shock for Alice, it felt like a two tonne brick had just fallen on her head. She, _might as well _be a pirate? The mere thought was inconceivable; Alice Primm lived a proper life she wasn't the sort to participate in something nearly as dastardly as _piracy._

Jack grinned, "You look stunned, love, and I don't think it's due to my devilishly good looks."

Alice scrunched her nose up, "No, Captain Sparrow. I just, I don't understand how you could imply that I share any similarities with a pirate such as yourself. No offence."

"None taken." Jack said with a wave of his hand, "I am sorry though, Alice. Because you're almost as much pirate as I am."

"Of course I'm not."

"Ahhh." Jack said, prodding Alice's nose, "but you are. So far in the space of two weeks you have: assisted in the escape of a fugitive, hid said fugitive in your house, sailed in a stolen boat and in an hour or so, you will step foot on the isle of Tortuga. It's an island for pirates, lass."

"Oh dear." Alice said uncomfortably, beginning to feel almost sick. He was right, despite her attempts to maintain propriety she was still sitting in a boat with an escaped pirate on a venture to god knows where. At some point she had even started _enjoying _the adventure, how awful!

"Jack, when we have finished with your…quest- per say. I would like to return home without so much as a _word _about whatever assistance I provided you."

Jack shrugged, "Fine. Why are you providing assistance anyway, Alice?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and Alice sighed.

"Despite my good intentions, I find I quite enjoy your company and see you in almost a…a _friendly _light. I feel its right to help friends, to some extent."

Jack smirked and took her hand, "I knew you'd come around, lass." He kissed it and she couldn't help but swoon.


	5. Chapter 5

Very soon, the small boat arrived at Tortuga. Jack pointed a ringed finger to the left, "That's her."  
Alice craned her neck to observe the ship beside them, its black hull seemed smooth and all she could do was stare as they drifted past a figurehead in the shape of a beautiful woman, holding a small bird in an outstretched hand. The ship was…gorgeous.

"I can see why you wanted it back so desperately, Jack. It's magnificent." Alice said breathlessly, and Jack grinned.

"I'm glad you agree, love."  
The pirate quickly tied the small boat to the dock and stepped out, he held a hand out to Alice and she took it, awkwardly stepping from the boat and smiling gleefully when her feet found land for the first time in a week.

"Oh it's so nice to be on the shore again." She started to fan her face with a hand, "too bad it's so hot, European dresses certainly don't seem ideal for this sort of climate."

"You'll get used to it."

Jack started walking off, into the heart of Tortuga where Alice saw _hundreds _of pirates partaking in many activities that could not be considered proper. Two men were sitting atop a rum barrel and tossing a bottle between each other when it hit another man in the face, a fight quickly broke out and Alice hiked up her skirts before scurrying after Jack.  
Tortuga was _nothing _like London, it was so very loud and it…stank, the smell was unbearable! The young woman tried her best to avoid looking at her surroundings and kept her eyes on Sparrow's back, following him through the crowd and not paying anything else any mind. She hadn't actually thought about what it would be like when they reached land, she was simply so excited about being able to walk properly again that she didn't even think about what it would be like. She also had no idea what constituted a _pirate island_, by this point she certainly understood and she didn't really like it.

"Jack!" She called, the pirate turned quickly, his hair almost hitting Alice in the face, "How long do we intend on staying here?"

Jack started walking again, "Just until nightfall, Alice. That's when we'll take back the Pearl."  
The young woman almost had to jog to keep up with his fast pace, she found herself ducking and narrowly missed being hit in the head with a potato,

"Why not just take it now? Then we'd be off this island."

"Thought you wanted to reach land, love. You were so excited before."

Alice fought the urge to roll her eyes, "Yes, Captain Sparrow. That was _before _we stepped foot here, it's a dastardly place, why is everyone so loud?"

"They're pirates, dearie. Folks like yourself don't usually frequent this sort of place, do they?"

Alice shook her head.

"That's because they don't exactly agree with it, but they're missing out. Here in Tortuga, no man ever feels lonely."

Alice blew a lock of hair out of her face, "I still don't understand why we don't take your ship now."

"Because, we have to gather supplies, your clothes, food, all that good stuff. _Annnd_ if we wait until night, we can steal the Pearl with its crew already attached. They'll all be asleep."

Alice blinked, "Isn't that kidnapping?"

"Nonsense" Jack scoffed and walked a little faster, apparently avoiding the question, "Here we are!"

The pirate threw a loose gesture towards a small shop with the words, "Maggie's Measurements" scrawled into a wooden sign above the door. Alice tilted her head to the side, in the window she saw a simple green dress upon a mannequin and nodded. Jack walked to the front door and flung it open, a bell rang as the door opened and Alice was ushered inside. A plump woman stood behind a counter with her arms crossed, she was dressed very extravagantly and wore _far_ too much makeup.

"Ah, Jack Sparrow." She said with a raised eyebrow and the pirate in question took a step toward her, suddenly with a loud _thwack _Jack was slapped very hard. Alice jumped slightly and covered her mouth with a hand, still hiding just inside the doorway.

"What was that for, Maggie?" Jack asked quickly and the woman pointed a finger at him.

"It's Mrs Haverndash to you, Sparrow! And you know very well what that was for."

Jack smiled slightly uncomfortably, "Care to enlighten me?"

"My daughter has been lusting over you for _months_. You best pray to the Lord that she don't show up anytime soon or she'll be all over you!"

Jack grimaced, "That bad is it?"

"Some might even say it was _worse!_" Maggie said with a forced laugh, "I swear if you _ever _try that again I will beat you so hard that you-"

The older woman finally noticed Alice standing in the corner and broke into a smile, "Hello, dear!"

Alice blinked, "Oh, hello."

Mrs Haverndash walked past Jack and made her way over to the brown haired girl who was looking slightly fearful, "Your accent is very posh, isn't it? Where ya from?"

"London, Miss." Alice said with a curt nod and Maggie grinned.

"_London? _Oh I've always dreamed of going to London. Now, what's a nice girl like you doing with the likes of Sparrow over there?"

Alice's cheeks turned slightly pink, "Well, um, I suppose you could say he kidnapped me. I mean, he's never put me in harm, but I didn't exactly come willingly."

"_KIDNAPPED?!_" The plump woman roared, she turned and glared at Jack while Alice began cursing her choice of words, "You _stole _this young woman from her home?!"

Jack smirked, "_borrowed, _I borrowed her without permission but with every-"

Maggie covered his mouth with a hand, "With every intention of bringing her back? That's what you said about that dress you stole from me last time you were here. I'm _not _buying, Sparrow."

The pirate managed to pry the hand away from his lips, "Yes, well, we _are_ buying. Buying your dresses specifically and I'll even pay you for that other dress I _forgot_ to return."

Maggie glared at him, but stepped back all the same, "One day you'll get old, Sparrow and you'll lose your looks, when that happens you'll have much less luck convincing the likes of me."

Jack winked and Maggie rolled her eyes, "I assume the dresses are for the girl in the corner?"

"Alice." Jack offered and Maggie smiled.

She looked over at the young woman standing in the doorway, who was trying her best to look like she hadn't been eavesdropping, "Alice, dear. Let's find you some dresses, shall we?"

* * *

Ten or so minutes later, Alice was standing behind a screen with Maggie and trying on a light silky nightgown. It was a pale green and although it was not as fine as some of the nightclothes she owned at home she was sure it would be perfect. She already had two other dresses made, both with much thinner fabric than the dresses she usually wore and they both lacked a corset which made Alice feel almost naked, she was grateful for how cool it felt though.

"That looks lovely, dear." Maggie said with a smile, "I have one more thing I'd like for you to have, but I'm not sure you'll appreciate it."  
Alice felt apprehensive, what could she have been talking about?

"Please, show me." She said, while slipping on one of the new dresses, it was a pale blue with thin white stripes running up vertically.  
Maggie quickly popped off into the back room and brought forth two off white shirts and pairs of brown breeches; Alice was rather taken aback by these items, _men's clothes? _She was an upper-class woman of London and could not wear _men's clothes_.

"I know what you are thinking, Alice. But you will be on a _pirate ship _your dresses will be cumbersome and uncomfortable after a few weeks, you don't have to wear these, but at least take them."

Alice took the clothes in her arms with a grimace, "Thank you for your worry, Mrs Haverndash, but I'm sure it won't be necessary."

The older woman nodded and pulled back the screen, Alice saw that Jack had fallen asleep in a chair; he was snoring softly and muttering to himself. Alice couldn't help but giggle when Maggie tossed the clothes onto his lap and he jumped slightly.

"Oh, you're done, eh?" He asked groggily and Maggie nodded, swiftly shoving her palm into his face, "Alright, alright!"

Jack dug through his pockets and pulled out a pouch of coins, he dumped it in Maggie's open hand and she smiled.

"Thank you, very much, Sparrow." She turned and looked at Alice, "You too, dear. I hope you find your way home soon."

Alice nodded, "I'm sure I will, Farewell."


	6. Chapter 6

Jack and Alice snuck quietly around the bow of the Black Pearl. The pirate had a burlap sack stuffed full of various items including Alice's dresses, food and a glass eye among other things. Alice was at as loss when it came to the glass eye, Jack had both eyes as far as she could tell but didn't have it in her to pry.

"We have to be very quiet, love. This would be _much _easier if you wore the breeches Maggie gave you."

Alice sighed, "I _can't _it would be most improper."

The man was right of course, the young woman was having much difficulty sneaking around in her floor length gown. The dock was wet and she was trying her best to keep the dress from dragging along it, the rustling of the fabric was not quiet in the least and she appeared very out of place and almost clunky beside Sparrow. He wobbled when he walked, but still managed to seem composed, he was almost silent even though one would have expected the beads in amongst his dreadlocks to be jangling very loudly. The pirate almost glided across the dock while Alice shuffled, it was very embarrassing.

"How do we get aboard?" She asked, staring up at the magnificent ship before her. She had seen ships this size docked in London before and knew that Charles owned one himself but have never stood this close to one. The sheer size of it was overwhelming, "There doesn't appear to be a gangplank."

Jack gave her a lopsided smile and pulled a rope from his sack. Alice shook her head.

"No, Captain Sparrow. I've never climbed anything in my life." She said with an awkward laugh. Sparrow shrugged while tying a knot at the end of the rope, creating a loop and managing to toss it up on deck and securing it on banister in one throw. Alice stared at him absolutely dumbfounded as he dumped his burlap sack beside her and began shimmying his way up the rope.

"I can't follow you, Jack!" She called up, the pirate turned and held a finger against his lips, she gasped, "I'm sorry."

Jack dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand and clambered up on deck, Alice partially expected him to sail off without her but very quickly a large plank of wood clanked to the ground beside her. The young woman looked up and saw Sparrow waving from on deck, she smiled gently and swiped up the burlap sack, she swung it over her shoulder before awkwardly scurrying up on deck. Jack grinned and ruffled Alice's hair (much to her distaste) before taking the sack from her and inching towards a door near the back end of the ship.

"We're going to my cabin." Jack whispered, "My ex-first mate will probably be in there, so we must be _very_ quiet. Savvy?"

Alice nodded and tried her best to tiptoe behind the pirate. He slowly pulled open the door, it creaked and both he and Alice cringed, luckily nothing seemed to happen, when the door was open, Jack headed inside and Alice followed him. The captain's cabin was extravagant, with velvet looking red curtains, polished surfaces, an elegant looking high-backed chair and finally a very comfortable looking bed that was calling Alice's name. She only just realised how exhausted she was.

"I don't like that at all." Jack said, his upper lip curling in disgust, Alice followed his gaze to a figure asleep on the lavish bed. He was fully clothed from head to toe, including boots and a very large hat, Alice held her breath.

"Who is that?" She asked Sparrow who took a step toward the man, placing his burlap sack on the ground.

"That is _Captain _Barbossa." The word captain was dripping with sarcasm. Jack prodded the man (Barbossa's) nose and he didn't seem to notice, "Perfect."

With no warning Jack ran from the room and Alice stumbled after him, she had no concept of how a ship worked, her knowledge stemmed as far as the wheel makes it move, and so whatever Jack was doing was completely lost on her.  
He ran back and forth, pulling ropes in, tying knots, climbing masts and not one bit of it made sense to her. Very quickly she found that the ship had actually begun to move and Jack was standing by the wheel looking thoroughly impressed with himself, Alice ran to the side of the ship and peered over, watching the ocean move below them, the stars above twinkling in the water below. It was beautiful. The young woman quickly decided that she liked this ship much more than she liked the boat she had been in for the past week, the sea moved slowly beneath them and she could barely feel the ship rocking on the waves, it was soothing, lulling and she felt her eyelids begin to droop. Alice, the foolish woman she was, slid down until she was sitting on the deck, her back resting against the ships railing and she slowly fell into a rather uncomfortable sleep.

* * *

What woke the young woman up was a rather sharp poke on the nose. Her hazel eyes opened slowly and after a few seconds focussed on the sword balanced right between her eyes.  
Alice had never been pointed at with a sword, aside from that one incident with Jack's dagger, and was feeling very frightened.

"Oi, she's awake." A voice said, it was jittery and slightly stammered; Alice looked up the tiniest bit and saw the man holding the sword was short and balding, while the man who spoke was tall, thin and wearing an eye patch.

"Ah, so she is." The shorter one set with a leer, "'ello, dearie"

Alice coughed, "Hello. Could you please remove your sword? It's making me most uncomfortable."

The two men laughed and the shorter one turned to the taller, "Here that Ragetti? It's making the girl _uncomfortable_."

Despite the tendrils of fear curling around her stomach making her feel more than uneasy, Alice set her mouth in a firm line, "_Very _uncomfortable, sir. As you can see I am no threat to you and would be much more willing to cooperate if you could please remove your sword."

The taller one, Ragetti as he had been called, turned to the shorter, "D'you think we should listen, Pintel. I mean, she don't look dangerous."

Pintel glared at him, "We're under orders from the Captain to watch the girl. Do you wanna go disobeying the Captain?"

Ragetti shook his head, "No, but what- what if Barbossa ain't the Captain no more? I mean, Jack Sparrow is back and from what I saw he's putting up a rather convincing argument."

"Look at you, using all ya big fancy words, whatever's happening with them ain't important to us, we just gotta watch the _girl_."

At the mention of Jack, Alice was relieved to suddenly hear his voice again. She turned slightly to her left and saw the aforementioned pirate standing on deck with the man called Barbossa. They both seemed in a rather heated argument over something but Alice couldn't quite hear what, every now and again a gesture would be flung in her direction by one of the two men and she didn't know why. She didn't know anything at this point and was very confused, other members of the crew appeared to have awoken as well and were milling around the deck, Alice wasn't sure how she felt being in the proximity of so many pirates, she trusted Jack, but wasn't sure about anyone else.

"Mr Ragetti." Alice started, "It is Ragetti, yes?"

The skinny pirate nodded.

"You said that Captain Sparrow seemed to have a rather convincing argument, do you perhaps have any idea what that might be?"

Ragetti looked around with his one eye before stroking his chin, "Mostly something about having the map Cap'n Barbossa's been looking for and that he'd have to make a choice about whether he'd rather sail under Jack's command, or behind Jack, in the water."

Alice couldn't help but laugh, "For some reason that seems oddly funny."

"What does?" A voice asked from above Alice and there Jack was, his golden teeth glinting in the moonlight.

"You." Alice said with a smirk and Jack rolled his eyes before ushering Pintel and Ragetti away, he held a hand out to Alice, she took it and he helped her to her feet, "I am assume this means the Black Pearl is yours again, Captain Sparrow?"

Jack gave her a lopsided grin, "She always was."


	7. Chapter 7

Alice very quickly decided that she _did not_ like the Black Pearl more than the dingy, for some odd reason she found herself feel much more ill upon this vessel than the other. She stumbled across deck for the umpteenth time that morning wondering where in the world she could find something to sooth her stomach.

"Haven't found your sea legs, have you lass?"

Alice jumped at the gravelly voice behind her and swung around, only to come face to face with the former Captain, "I suppose I haven't, Mister Barbossa. Have you any idea how I could solve this dilemma?"

"That's none of my business is it, Miss Primm. Or is it Mrs Primm?"

Alice raised an eyebrow, "It's Miss Primm presently, soon to be Mrs Montgomery. How do you know my name, did Jack tell you?"

"Maybe." He began to walk off and Alice scowled at his retreating form, "You'll find your sea legs soon, Alice. Don't you worry."

The young woman could do nothing but curse the cryptic nature of that conversation, "Why couldn't he just answer my questions?"

"Why couldn't who answer your questions?"

Alice jumped again and this time found Jack standing beside her, "Captain Sparrow, so nice to see you. I was referring to Mister Barbossa, does he always speak in such a cryptic manner?"

Jack grimaced, "Only when he knows something he shouldn't. He cause you much trouble, love?"

"Not really." Alice said with a shrug, "I was wondering if you told him my name, because I certainly didn't."

"Don't think I did, lass. We're going to have to keep a good watch over that slimy wretch."

Alice nodded and Jack ruffled her hair, she glared at him, it was dishevelled enough without him disturbing it all the time. The pirate gave Alice a lopsided smirk in response to her glare and headed off back to the wheel which was currently being manned by the fellow with the parrot on his shoulder.

"Alice." Jack said, "Can you do anything?"

"Pardon?"

"Can you _do_ anything? Cast an anchor, scale the rigging, man the crow's nest, hoist the colours, anything?"

Alice blinked, every one of those things made absolutely no sense to her, "I know the wheel turns the ship…"

Jack groaned, "First of all, love. That's called the _helm_; secondly, I can't have you on my ship just _lazing _about all day, savvy?"

"I have not been _lazing _about, Sparrow. It isn't my fault that I am uneducated about ships, I can read maps though."

The pirate seemed to consider this for a few seconds before nodding, "Can you cook?"

"Not really, but I'm sure I can learn."

"Alright then, from this day forth you are my navigator and the chef's assistant, are we clear?"

"Yes, Captain Sparrow."

* * *

Charles was panicking, it had been nearly two weeks and Alice still hadn't been found. He had searched the entirety of London and had the royal guard on lookout for his missing fiancé, Mrs Primm had barely left her bedroom since Alice went missing and all the maids in her household were beginning to fret immensely. After the ninth day, Charles took it upon himself to take up a temporary residence in Primm manor until Alice was found.

This afternoon he decided to search Alice's room for what felt like the millionth time, that was where he last saw her go before her disappearance, he remembered just how long he sat in the dining room, just waiting for her to walk down the stairs that day, but she never did. Everything in her room was exactly as it was last time he checked, not an item out of place. The only thing that seemed odd was a gleam coming from under Alice's vanity that he had never noticed before; the older man got down on his knees and peered at the object. He was sure it couldn't be what it seemed, he had no idea why Alice would have such an item hidden in her bedroom, he reached a hand under and hissed when he felt a cool metal slice his fingertip.

He pulled a dagger out. All he could do was stare; it couldn't have been Alice's, why would it have been Alice's? Charles quickly ran from the room and down the stairs, Mrs Primm was sitting at the dining table and the man knelt beside her.

"My Lady." He said and she smiled gently.

"Yes, Charles?"

He took a deep breath, "Have you any idea why Alice might have hidden a dagger under her vanity?"

Mrs Primm's eyes widened, "No, I wouldn't. Why would you ask me this?"

Charles brought the blade forth, the tip still red with his blood. Mrs Primm stopped breathing.

"I recognise this blade. I saw it but a month ago, it was pointed at my granddaughter."

"A dagger, pointed at Alice? Why?!"

"He was a pirate! He used our carriage to escape the royal guard. Do you- do you think he has my Alice?"

Charles didn't respond, he was thinking about the map, the one Alice had been so eager to show him. The _pirate _map. It would explain everything, the secrecy, and the noises coming from her room that afternoon and the disappearance of his fiancé right after he returned the artifact.

"Charles?" Mrs Primm asked, he looked up at her.

"I'll assemble a crew immediately; my ship will be ready to sail tomorrow. I know precisely where the pirate is headed." He took the older woman's  
hand in his own, "Alice will be safely returned, I promise."

* * *

That afternoon Alice found herself acquainted with the ship's cook. He was a rather lanky man named Anthony with a strong Irish accent and a fondness for potatoes. He quickly managed to teach Alice most of the basics, fire hurts, don't fill the pot too much or it spills, use the cheese sparingly. She didn't quite grasp most of his instruction, having had all food cooked for her up until this point but was rather eager to learn.

"Could you pass me a carrot, lass?" Anthony asked and Alice quickly complied, Anthony took the vegetable form her hands and tossed it into the large boiling pot before him, "You been at sea before, eh?"

Alice shook her head, "No, Captain Sparrow more or less abducted me."

"Sparrow's a right tosser, ain't he?"

"Oh no, I wouldn't say that." Alice replied, trying to hide her distaste of the man's vulgar language, "I'd say he and I are rather good friends."

"I don't like him much. Maybe that's just because Cap'n Barbossa didn't like him much, I'd never seen his face before today. Most of the men on this ship are part of Sparrow's old crew, before Barbossa nicked his ship again, didn't sit right with a few of them, but they knew Sparrow had been left at port where he could find a new boat easy, s'not like they left him to die."

Alice was rather intrigued by Anthony's story, knowing rather little about Jack, the man she called her friend and wanting to learn more, "You weren't part of Jack's crew then?"

"Nay." Anthony said, "Barbossa picked me up a year or two ago, I've only heard the stories."

"Was your previous Captain also searching for the fountain of youth?" Alice asked and Anthony nodded.

"Aye, he was. Found out Sparrow had already stolen his map when he set off, by the time they returned to port Sparrow had already taken off and they didn't know where. They'd long given up searching by the time you showed up."

Alice nodded and rested against the wooden wall of the galley, trying her best to ignore the swaying of the waves and to sooth her uneasy stomach. She wondered where she would be sleeping that night, hopefully somewhere comfortable, she wasn't expecting anything like her bed back in London but anything even resembling a mattress would be heaven.

"You alright, Miss?" Anthony asked and Alice dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand.

"I'm just fine, no need to fret."

Anthony raised an eyebrow, "You sure? You're looking a little green."

Alice's hand flew to her cheek, "I am?"

Anthony simply nodded and Alice suddenly realised she hadn't seen herself in a mirror since she was dragged from London; she had absolutely no idea what state she was currently in. She began to worry.

"Do I look okay, Anthony?"

The pirate shrugged, "A little worse for wear I suppose."

"Oh dear." Alice muttered and very conveniently Jack burst into the room.

"Alice! I need your assistance with the map."

"Of course, Jack. Right after somebody draws me a bath."


End file.
